In the evening of that day, Rokossovsky summoned several division commanders in the city to hold a temporary combat meeting. The topic of this meeting was to cooperate with the 61st Army on the right to eliminate the German troops north of Susinich.
After the meeting began, Chief of Staff Malinin pointed to the map on the wall and said to the participating division commanders: "To the north of Susinich, there is a large village called Popkovo, located on the high ground overlooking the surrounding areas. . It was from here that the German invaders fired artillery shells into the city of Susinich. Our meeting this time is to discuss how to capture Popkovo and completely eliminate the enemy's threat to the city."
Kiryuhin, commander of the 324th Infantry Division, waited for Malinin to finish speaking and then asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell us what kind of troops and technical equipment the enemy has in this village and town?"
"According to our intelligence," Malinin replied in response to Kiriukhin's question: "There are about two thousand German invaders stationed in this village and town. They have tanks and large-caliber artillery. In order to prevent being attacked by our army, they Ring fortifications were built around the villages and towns.”
When they learned that there were two thousand German troops stationed in the villages and towns and that they also had a large amount of technical equipment, the division commanders who participated in the meeting couldn't help but frowned. They knew in their hearts that this was a tough battle and not easy to fight. Even if the troops are fully manned and supported by powerful artillery fire, capturing such villages and towns will cost a huge price. But now there is a shortage of soldiers and ammunition. Using such troops and equipment to attack the enemy is not to use an egg to hit a stone.
Seeing the silence of the division commanders, Rokossovsky guessed what everyone was worried about, so he stood up and said: "Comrade division commanders, when Military Commissar Comrade Lobachev and I returned to Moscow some time ago, someone Ask us, why are we unable to defeat the enemy and break through their defenses despite having more division-level troops committed to the battle than the enemy?"
Rokossovsky's words immediately attracted the attention of the division commanders. They all involuntarily turned their eyes to each other, wanting to hear what he would say next. Rokossovsky continued: "I told them that our divisions had only 8,000 men at full strength, and after a long period of fighting, each division had only 3,500 men left, and some divisions even had only 3,500 men left. Two thousand men remain. And what about the enemy? Their infantry divisions number from 10,000 to 12,000 men, while their tank and motorized divisions number from 12,000 to 15,000 men."
When their units suffered serious losses, soldiers and junior command personnel were replenished to other divisions, and the division headquarters retreated to the rear to form new units. In doing so, they ensure that the combat effectiveness of the troops is not compromised. And what about our troops? Generally, they are replenished while fighting, and a large number of new recruits with no combat experience are added to the army. Although the number is greater, the combat effectiveness is reduced..."
Rokossovsky observed everyone's reaction as he spoke, and saw that everyone was nodding their heads in agreement with what he said. After saying a bunch of words that had nothing to do with combat but that resonated with the division commanders, he cut to the point: "In this battle to capture Popkovo, the group army is preparing to invest three infantry divisions and two tanks. brigade, two artillery regiments, and three rocket launcher battalions. The 61st Group Army on the right will also invest roughly the same amount of troops to launch an attack from the north. I believe that no matter how many German troops and technical equipment there are in Popkovo, they will not be able to defeat the enemy. For our simultaneous attacks from the north and the south, all that awaits them is failure."
After Rokossovsky finished speaking, Malinin announced the combat order. The three infantry divisions participating in the attack were Chernyshev's 11th Guards Division, Kiriukhin's 324th Infantry Division, and the 324th Infantry Division from The 97th Infantry Division of the Base Camp Reserve. After announcing the combat order, the commanders of the divisions participating in the battle all raised some questions they might encounter. Ma Lining, who had done his homework long ago, gave them detailed answers one by one.
After the meeting, the other division commanders got up and left the headquarters, but Chernyshev stayed. He took out two documents from his briefcase, handed them to Rokossovsky, and said at the same time: "Comrade Commander, this is the combat report and commendation submitted by Captain Sokov, commander of the Istria Battalion. Please take a look at the application report."
Rokossovsky, who had just stood up, took the document from Chernyshev's hand, stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation: "Comrade General, please sit down, I will take a look at these two documents first." With that said, he sat back down and read Sokov's report carefully.
After reading the commendation application report, he handed it to Lobachev and said at the same time: "Comrade Military Commissar, look, this is a commendation application report submitted by Captain Sokov." Then he immersed himself in watching the battle. Report.
Lobachev quickly read the commendation application report. As soon as Rokossovsky finished reading the combat report, he said: "Comrade Commander, I recommend that the women's anti-aircraft machine gun company be awarded the medal for all soldiers, and this Sergeant Lida, she can be awarded the Order of the Red Star alone."
Regarding Lobachev's proposal, Rokossovsky immediately nodded in agreement: "Comrade Military Commissar, I agree with your proposal. You know, on the battlefield, facing ferocious enemies, even male soldiers sometimes They would also appear panicked. But these young female soldiers fought bravely and tenaciously with the enemy and annihilated them all, which is very remarkable. In addition to conferring medals on them, I also recommend that Lida be promoted Sergeant is the rank of second lieutenant.”
"I agree!" Lobachev nodded vigorously and said, "Comrade Commander, I will draft an order right away."
After Lobachev stood up and left, Rokossovsky handed the combat report back to Chernyshev and said to him with a serious expression: "Captain Sokov's report stated that during the recent battle, the troops The reduction in personnel has reached 40%, and I hope that the superiors will replenish the troops, as well as the weapons and ammunition consumed. Comrade Chernyshev, please tell him that I can agree to the commendation of the female soldier company; but the replenishment of troops, weapons and ammunition, I can't help it, let him figure it out on his own."
"What, let him find a solution on his own?" Chernyshov immediately turned into a frown after hearing what Rokossovsky said: "Comrade Commander, this may be difficult to do."
"General Chernyshov," Rokossovsky said helplessly: "Currently, there are huge shortages of soldiers in each division, and the superiors have not given us more replacements. Where can I find people for Soko now?" Husband replenish? Another point, you must not forget that the Istrian battalion is fully equipped with German equipment, and the logistics department cannot replenish ammunition for them. Before the battalion completes the collective reloading, the ammunition required is only They can rely on their own abilities to solve it.”
